In the 1990s, rocks were found in North America and Antarctica that seemed to …

You’ve likely heard of Pangaea (not the one that sounds similar from Avatar), but you may not realize that it wasn’t the first supercontinent; several have been identified from the rock record. About a billion years ago, a supercontinent named Rodinia formed from the collision of a number of cratons which comprise parts of today’s continents. Evidence of the collisions that built Rodinia remains in a geological remnant called the Grenville mountain range.

Collisions of continents compress the crust between them, driving up a range of mountain peaks. We see a process like this going on today in the Himalayas, where the Indian plate is pushing northward into the Eurasian plate. With time, however, erosion will level out these mountains.

The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. Deep in the roots of the Appalachians, though, we can see evidence of an even older mountain range that has long-since eroded from sight. The remnants of the Grenville range extend along the East Coast of the United States, but also continuing north into Canada as well as south through Texas and into Mexico.

Finding evidence of these mountain-building events along the edges of two continents is one way to piece together the collisions. Another is to find rock units of the same age and type that split apart as the supercontinent broke up. In addition, paleomagnetic information recorded in the rocks can be used to establish the past latitude of the continents and tie the pieces together. (The inclination of the Earth’s magnetic field relative to the surface changes with latitude.)

In the 1990s, rocks were found in North America and Antarctica that seemed to suggest attachment as part of Rodinia. The rocks were the same age, but it could not be determined whether they were the same unit. Now, a new effort to fingerprint those rocks has shown that the North American and Antarctic rocks are indeed related. This helps resolve the arrangement of the Earth’s continents at that time.

The North American rock in question is the Red Bluff granite suite in the Franklin Mountains of Texas, near El Paso. It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event. Continents break up when volcanic rifts open to split them apart—the East African Rift Valley is a great modern-day example. Sometimes, though, a rift begins to form, but dies out before managing to divide the continent. The Keweenawan is the largest failed rift known.

Starting along the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan (from which it gets its name), the rift is responsible for the Lake Superior basin. As it continues to the southwest, the evidence of the rift dives beneath the surface through Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and into Texas. The Red Bluff Granite in Texas formed as part of the rifting.

Switching scenes to Antarctica, the relevant rock is a region of crust known as Coats Land, near the Weddell Sea and just east of the Transantarctic mountains. For an added degree of difficulty (since field work in Antarctica is widely regarded as "too easy"), there are only two accessible outcrops in Coats Land to work with. The rocks there are similar to the Red Bluff Granite in Texas, and formed at the same time. To determine the relationship between them, researchers used lead isotopes to fingerprint them. The ratios of these isotopes vary among different magma bodies, so a match indicates a shared magma source.

The rocks in Texas and Coats Land match perfectly. That simple result confirms a powerful story: Texas and Antarctica may not have much in common these days, but Coats Land is a chip off the North American block. When Rodinia finally did break up, this piece of crust was separated from North America and ended up in the core of what would become Antarctica. You certainly wouldn’t guess this from a map of the planet today, but that’s the gift that geology gives—unique pictures of the impossibly distant past.

"Six feet end to end, three and five-tenths feet central diameter, tapering to one foot at each end. Like a barrel with five bulging ridges in place of staves. Lateral breakages, as of thinnish stalks, are at equator in middle of these ridges. In furrows between ridges are curious growths – combs or wings that fold up and spread out like fans. . . which gives almost seven-foot wing spread. Arrangement reminds one of certain monsters of primal myth, especially fabled Elder Things in the Necronomicon."

I can't help noticing 2 impossibilities:A/ The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. B/ It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event.

The theory of continent evolving through continental drift is just a theory.Those 2 hypothetical datings are in direct contradiction with the facts from the Bible.

I can't help noticing 2 impossibilities:A/ The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. B/ It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event.

The theory of continent evolving through continental drift is just a theory.Those 2 hypothetical datings are in direct contradiction with the facts from the Bible.

The Appalachians are not related to Rodinia- that's the (now erased) Grenville range. The Apps were built during the Taconic mountain building event ~540Ma - 440Ma.

I can't help noticing 2 impossibilities:A/ The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. B/ It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event.

The theory of continent evolving through continental drift is just a theory.Those 2 hypothetical datings are in direct contradiction with the facts from the Bible.

Actually, you'll be hard pressed to find any "facts" in the Bible regarding the age of the Earth. You've been listening to too many self-important jackasses who've made it up on the fly.

I can't help noticing 2 impossibilities:A/ The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. B/ It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event.

The theory of continent evolving through continental drift is just a theory.Those 2 hypothetical datings are in direct contradiction with the facts from the Bible.

Actually, you'll be hard pressed to find any "facts" in the Bible regarding the age of the Earth. You've been listening to too many self-important jackasses who've made it up on the fly.

Actually, youd be wrong about that. The bible does talk about geological land marks, like mountains, which i doubt have had any major changes in the last 5,000 years of its existence.

I can't help noticing 2 impossibilities:A/ The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. B/ It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event.

The theory of continent evolving through continental drift is just a theory.Those 2 hypothetical datings are in direct contradiction with the facts from the Bible.

Actually, you'll be hard pressed to find any "facts" in the Bible regarding the age of the Earth. You've been listening to too many self-important jackasses who've made it up on the fly.

Actually, youd be wrong about that. The bible does talk about geological land marks, like mountains, which i doubt have had any major changes in the last 5,000 years of its existence.

Sure, but what does that have to do with the age of the earth? And the Bible in any recognizable form hasn't existed for more than 3000 years, and the modern version for considerably less than 2000.

The eroded Appalachian/Ouchita mountains or roots thereof dive under the Mississippi and resurface in Arkansas, Oklahoma and briefly in west Texas. Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio may ower in part their location to this belt's weakness under continental stresses.

Texas geology and its common sense endowed people provide jobs the corrupt centralized government based in Washington can only plan on vacation and promise outside of the D.C. to the rest of America. No wonder so many non Texans move to Texas, become Texans and stay Texans.

I love everything about Texas, except its politics, and those who would have us believe that the way it is here now is the way it has always been, whatever that might mean.

It's funny... as I was reading this article, thinking about the vast expanse of time and the incalculable changes that have brought the landscape and the planet to its current state, I was briefly overwhelmed by the petty nonsense that gets shoved around about Texas.

Then, I come to the comments thread, and sure enough... comments from the east coast and west coast laughing about how Texas needs to go away, followed shortly by snorts purporting to speak for Texas about this jobs hogwash.

For me, my pride in Texas has nothing to do with caricatures of Bush, nor with recent claims about the present governor, nor frankly with all this tea party red-state bullshit.

Texas has beautiful lands, rich in the awe of nature, and more variety in terrain, life, and culture than it ever gets credit for.

This alone seems to have endured over millions of years. And suddenly, I couldn't care less what some blowhard thinks about jobs.

I can't help noticing 2 impossibilities:A/ The Appalachian mountain range no longer reaches the impressive heights it once did because it has been eroding for over 400 million years. B/ It’s related to the 1.1 billion year old Keweenawan (also known as the Midcontinent) rift event.

The theory of continent evolving through continental drift is just a theory.Those 2 hypothetical datings are in direct contradiction with the facts from the Bible.

Actually, you'll be hard pressed to find any "facts" in the Bible regarding the age of the Earth. You've been listening to too many self-important jackasses who've made it up on the fly.

Anything pre-flood will be conjecture since the entire surface of the Earth was presumably modified during that time period, and the only information we have of the time that passed between the generation that lived through the flood and the ones immediately after them are possibly incomplete. The Biblical account of the early years of history is something like 31 verses. The life of one of the Patriarchs was 13 chapters. Obviously the emphasis was not placed on origins, and to bring that up into a dicussion is just flame bait.

Suffice to say, anyone saying that they "know" how old the Earth is is obviously lying, and considering the entire creation narrative could have taken place 15 trillion years ago. Timelines for the earth in both Biblical accounts and scientific theories will continue to be revised and the ballpark just keeps getting bigger.

On the story itself, it is fascinating when totally disparate regions are found to have commonalities. It'd really be interesting to see how the Earth has changed over these eons (however many there have been).

Suffice to say, anyone saying that they "know" how old the Earth is is obviously lying, and considering the entire creation narrative could have taken place 15 trillion years ago. Timelines for the earth in both Biblical accounts and scientific theories will continue to be revised and the ballpark just keeps getting bigger.

I love everything about Texas, except its politics, and those who would have us believe that the way it is here now is the way it has always been, whatever that might mean.

It's funny... as I was reading this article, thinking about the vast expanse of time and the incalculable changes that have brought the landscape and the planet to its current state, I was briefly overwhelmed by the petty nonsense that gets shoved around about Texas.

Then, I come to the comments thread, and sure enough... comments from the east coast and west coast laughing about how Texas needs to go away, followed shortly by snorts purporting to speak for Texas about this jobs hogwash.

For me, my pride in Texas has nothing to do with caricatures of Bush, nor with recent claims about the present governor, nor frankly with all this tea party red-state bullshit.

Texas has beautiful lands, rich in the awe of nature, and more variety in terrain, life, and culture than it ever gets credit for.

This alone seems to have endured over millions of years. And suddenly, I couldn't care less what some blowhard thinks about jobs.

Half my family is from Texas, and to a large extent I agree with you.

But you act like Texans don't have (stereotypical, lowly) opinions of other states.

Suffice to say, anyone saying that they "know" how old the Earth is is obviously lying, and considering the entire creation narrative could have taken place 15 trillion years ago. Timelines for the earth in both Biblical accounts and scientific theories will continue to be revised and the ballpark just keeps getting bigger.

Suffice to say, anyone saying that they "know" how old the Earth is is obviously lying, and considering the entire creation narrative could have taken place 15 trillion years ago. Timelines for the earth in both Biblical accounts and scientific theories will continue to be revised and the ballpark just keeps getting bigger.

Suffice to say, anyone saying that they "know" how old the Earth is is obviously lying, and considering the entire creation narrative could have taken place 15 trillion years ago. Timelines for the earth in both Biblical accounts and scientific theories will continue to be revised and the ballpark just keeps getting bigger.

Citation needed.

Explaination needed.

Estimates of the Earth's age are not being continuously pushed back. The date remains virtually unchanged since radiometric dating was first applied in 1953.